7 Things that Literally Annoy the Crap out of Every Car Driver in Karachi

The other day I was driving in a posh locality of Gulshan-e-Iqbal in Karachi when I saw cars intercepting each other on the signal. After a brief verbal spat, one of the drivers came out of the car angrily and so did the other, and so begins a fight. Clearly, one of the vehicles had hit the other because it had run the red light. But, unsurprisingly, there didn’t seem to be any admittance on the mistaking driver’s part. Rather, the argument continued with other vehicles piling up, making the who

Solutions to our traffic woes

Traffic’. The first thing that comes to mind upon mention of this word is long queues of vehicles piling up on the major arteries and thoroughfares, paralysing the life of every ordinary citizen of Karachi. Noise pollution, unmaintained and unfit vehicles plying on major roads that are already congested by illegal parking, are some of the other issues compounding the larger issue and making the lives of the common man miserable. There appears to be virtually no check and balance on the number

Begging to differ

The other day I was standing at this dairy shop when I heard a measly voice asking for money. When I turned my head, I saw an adorable little kid with his slight hand stretched out, and emptiness in his eyes, asking in a rhythmic tone to lend him money. It seemed that the little boy had memorised his words well, a skill that could have been utilised to learn about colours, numbers, butterfli es, fellow human beings and the world. Beggars are now part of our lives, from shops to traffic signals a

Fancy Number Plates – Aren’t We Promoting VIP Culture?

Much is said and written about the VIP culture that’s plaguing the country, but there are some aspects of the issue that are not just related to the VIPs and require some introspection. Mostly, it is the commoners who have to face this culture and it is evident, but not limited to, the streets. Excessive and sometimes ruthless security protocols, illegal fancy number plates coupled with a political party’s flag hoisted on the car’s front, are some of the evident social illnesses. Lately, I ha

In first, Karachi's UIT students develop robotic limbs for the disabled

Three students of Usman Institute of Technology (UIT), Karachi have developed a model for wearable robotic legs, which will help disabled persons move and function on their own again. “We have developed this exoskeleton model for paraplegics to assist them in the functions of sitting, standing and walking,” explained Moutasim Abbasi, who led the project. The other two students included Adil Hanif and Muhammad Usman. The group, working under the supervision of Associate Professor Engineer Raza